ZIP 47879 vs ZIP 47855

This side-by-side compares ZIP 47879 (Shelburn, IN) and ZIP 47855 (Hymera, IN) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 47879 has a population of 3,302 at 22 people per square mile, while ZIP 47855 has 546 at 264 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 47879 reports a median household income of $54,750 against $47,102 in ZIP 47855, with per-capita income of $31,542 vs $21,480. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 12.7% in 47879 and 5.6% in 47855. Poverty rate reads 15.5% vs 13.0%, and unemployment 5.3% vs 12.5% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $93,500 in 47879 versus $90,500 in 47855, with median rent of $762 and $873 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 77.9% vs 62.7%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.